Still Lives Posed
by AngryCupcake
Summary: Encounters frozen in time between Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood.
1. Chapter 1

Still Lives Posed

Disclaimer: The world and characters of Harry Potter are created and owned by JK Rowling.

Luna Lovegood looked up from her book and shut her weary eyes. She spent the past hour reading her text upside down and was beginning to feel the worst for it. Luna rubbed her temples hoping to alleviate the stabbing pain forming in the frontal portion of her brain. Perhaps she should have heeded Professor Sorenson's advice and not gone beyond the suggested fifteen minute time cap placed on what she described as Luna's creative reading endeavors.

Professor Anne Sorenson was the new teacher of Hogwarts' very first International Magic Relations (IMR) course. The class focused on the development of magic outside Wizarding Europe and its relationship with Eurocentric magic. There was so much more to magic than many British wizards ever realized. From Shamanism's reliance upon the earth to invoke its will to Santeria's and Voudun's cultural impact on casting to the utilization of meditation in many forms of Asian sorcery; Luna found it all so very interesting. It made her understand for the first time, in a truly real and visceral way, her mother's own fascination with spellular design and execution.

It was the reason why Luna Lovegood found herself in the young professor's company twice a week outside of normal classroom hours. Without any verbal agreement the two witches settled upon an established routine in which Luna would stop by the professor's office to ask questions about topics that perplexed or interested her. This continued for some time and before either of them knew it Luna was conducting IMR's only independent study project for extra credit and Sorenson found herself the mentor of Hogwarts most eccentric and inquisitive young mind.

Luna pushed her book aside and stared ahead. The professor stepped away for a few moments and without the woman's lilting Jamaican accent the room felt oppressive. Actually silence wasn't the culprit. Instead it was the swish swish swishing sound of a hard bristled brush scrubbing against the hard stone floor. The brush belonged to a sore arm attached to a sour faced young man on his hands and knees. Luna was sure he was the source of the ill will tingeing the corner of the room he worked in. She watched him ease off his hands to rest on his knees and catch his breath. He nearly ran his fingers through his platinum blonde hair but thought better of it when he remembered all grime soiling his manicured hands. Shaking his head in disgust he grabbed the brush and resumed his exhaustive task once more with his back facing her all the while.

Luna watched the boy work diligently. He'd been at it for quite some time. His breath came in huffy little pants. Some pink colored his face as he scoured the stone blocks. The Ravenclaw could tell he wasn't used to physical labor. Although to be honest most wizards weren't either, not in the muggle sense. Still, despite his obvious limitations, he was doing a right good job of it she decided. Well except for the area to his left. He seemed to have forgotten about that.

Luna's voice broke the tangible silence between them. "You missed a spot."

The swish swish swishing paused and the air seemed to freeze. Draco Malfoy did not deign to speak. The implied 'fuck you, bitch' rang loud and clear.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter.

Dinner was typically a solitary affair for Luna Lovegood though to be honest the same applied to breakfast and lunch as well. Alone in the crowd Luna eyed the roast beef on her plate with suspicion; poking and prodding the meat while she mulled over an issue that had been bothering her all day long. Since many of Luna's Ravenclaw peers went out of their way to ignore her no one notice the dawning clarity and intense focus replacing her trademark dreamy gaze. The sandy haired blonde pushed away her food and leaned back into her chair. Her blue orbs surveyed the Great Hall sweeping over chattering students and taking great care to note that every professor was preoccupied at the moment. Luna's gut told her to strike now while prime opportunity presented itself. Luna's intellect, however, disagreed after calculating the probable risks of her plan over its possible benefits and ended up with less than favorable results. Ultimately her gut won out.

With a soft sigh and iron resolve of a Lovegood on a mission Luna donned her lion hat and climbed atop Ravenclaw's dinning table.

"Oi watch it!"

"What the bleeding hell are you doing Lovegood?"

"Look Loony's lost her mind!"

"When did she ever have it?"

Luna heard all those comments from her housemates and far worse as she trampled food and drink underfoot, but she did not stop. No she continued marching along the table until she reached its center. Unbelievably few people outside Ravenclaw seemed to be aware of the commotion.

That would change very soon.

Luna cleared her throat. Her hat, Mr. Peabody, took the cue and expelled a massive roar.

Absolute silence followed and hundreds of eyes came to rest on a single figure standing head and shoulders above them. The sudden attention reminded Luna of not being particularly fond of public speaking. It made her stomach feel funny like a great stone had settled into it. Nevertheless the eccentric little blonde did her best to push the creeping tendrils of fear away because some things just needed to be said and she opened her mouth to do just that.

Luna passionately expressed her desire to save her beloved International Magic Relations class from being dropped from Hogwarts curriculum the next year. She spoke loudly, proudly, and fast, very fast. She had to. Luna needed to be heard over the din of students now fully recovered from their initial shock at her daring in addition to angry professors shooting spells at her as they demanded she cease and desist. Plenty of shouting, ducking, and weaving was necessary as Luna argued her position.

She did quite well for a while right until she leapt up to skip over a spell aimed at her legs by Professor Sinestra and caught another square in the chest courtesy of Snape. The spell knocked Luna off her feet and landed her flat on her back. It stung something awful.

She might have laid there for a while as the hard stone felt oddly comfortable at the moment, but she was hauled to her feet none too gently by a furious Professor Severus Snape. He took a firm grip on her elbow and began to lead her out of the Great Hall.

'_For punishment no doubt,'_ Luna thought idly. The idea didn't bother her much. She knew going in the likely consequences of her actions.

So with that bit of peace of mind Luna followed her potions master serenely. The overall chaos left in her wake did not touch her nor did the taunts and teases of her classmates. What mattered was the message and her success in delivering it. Luna's wide eyes wandered over face after face as she walked along until they stopped inexplicably on a tall boy with pale blond hair. Draco Malfoy. She stared at him. He sneered right back. Luna simply smiled in return as Snape dragged her out of the Great Hall.

A/N: I wasn't planning on continuing this because I'm a one shot kind of a gal, but I'll try adding two or three chapters to this before ending it for good. Anyways I gave Luna's lion a name since I didn't remember him having one.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling. There's also a teeny tiny nod to Gregory Maguire's Wicked, also not mine.

With eyes cast down to the floor the boy radiated cool hostility and total boredom. The girl, on the other hand, stared clear through the professor far off somewhere in her mind probably planning a Fuzzy Walcott expedition rather than paying attention to the severe reprimand from her superior. The invisible hand of time ticked silently by as Professor McGonagall's eyes darted from one student to the other and wondered if anything she'd said in the past two hours managed to penetrate their incredibly thick skulls Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood. As an educator it was McGonagall's duty to instill the very best into her young charges and she always tried her hardest to do just that. But even Minerva McGonagall had limits and today was a day in which she wished she hadn't crawled out of bed. Everything that could go wrong did and after a long hard day of teaching ungrateful students, dealing with bickering co-workers, and missing her cup coffee earlier this morning Minerva was simply not in any sort of forgiving mood

"…regardless of the circumstances your actions must be governed by common sense and restraint. I expect it on school grounds and society expects it of you after Hogwarts. You're next detention will be with Professor Sprout. You are dismissed." McGonagall told the two.

A curious expression crossed Luna's features. Before Draco had made one move away from his evening of hell the dizzy little blonde's question flew out of her mouth before there was any chance to stop her.

"Professor, by that logic if society expected me to walk a straight path off a cliff, and I did, would my actions then be common sense and a model restraint?"

Draco snapped to attention and watched in alarm as the old witch's jaw clench. He wished to high Merlin the stupid loon beside him would shut her bloody gob, but no she continued to dig herself and by extension him into a deeper hole.

In Luna's defense it was an honest to goodness curious for curiosity's sake question. There was no smart mouthing or mocking behind it. It was just a shame that the professor in her less than favorable disposition failed to see it that way. It would be an additional twenty three minutes before Luna and Draco saw the outside of that classroom.

Twenty three minutes later Professor McGonagall finally stopped speechifying and Draco made a mad dash freedom nearly knocking over Luna in the process. He didn't bother to apologize. She was in his way.

"Dragon faced old hag." Draco muttered under his breath as he walked out the door.

"What was that Mr. Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall called from behind her desk. Even with his back turned Draco knew the old witch's face tightened into a disapproving frown. Draco turned to face her and saw that, yes indeed, he correctly envisioned the exact scowl now marring her visage. He didn't care.

"I said I'm glad to lend a hand." Nor was he stupid. He flashed what he hoped to be an innocent smile and raced from the class before McGonagall had a chance to redress his latest slip in propriety.

As he expected Pansy Parkinson waited for him in the corridor. She wore a bored expression on her face, one that shifted to irritation when she saw him approaching her. Pansy pushed her lithe form off the wall she'd been leaning against and tapped the miniaturized time keeper on her wrist repeatedly with her long finger nail. Draco grabbed her wrist and gently turned it towards him.

"It still says fashionably late."

"It does not." The raven haired girl insisted. Pansy pulled her arm free of the young man's grasp and looked at the time herself. "Well it felt like forever." She sniffed not willing to admit she'd been wrong.

Pansy cast a sidelong glance at blonde partner in crime as they walked away from the classroom and down the winding passages of Hogwarts. "Given the nature of your 'crime' did you get speech number three?"

The blond shrugged his shoulders apparently unconcerned. "That was yesterday. Today, thanks to Loony, I would say it was speech number seven with modified elements of speeches one and twelve."

Now that was a doozy. Had Pansy been any less well bred or Ginny Weasley she would have whistled. "Well I do believe the lady grows frustrated."

"The lady can go Kedavra herself for all I care." Draco replied without missing a beat.

Pansy laughed and bumped him lightly with her hip. "Right between the eyes, yeah?"

The blond chuckled a bit despite his foul mood.

"Right between the eyes." he agreed.

"Draco!" An airy voice behind them called.

Pansy and Draco turned as one to find none other than Luna Lovegood standing mere feet away from them. Draco appeared distinctly irritated by her presence while his friend seemed more amused than anything else because few outside of Slytherin actively sought out Draco Malfoy.

Smirking, Pansy, in true alpha bitch fashion, sized the smaller girl up from the unfashionable Elphaba Oz shoes on her feet to the infamous lion hat snoozing at the top of her head.

"His name is Mr. Peabody." Luna said when she saw the slytherin's eyes lingering on her hat.

Pansy, finding Luna lacking, simply tilted her head and quirked a perfectly groomed brow in response, no verbal dismissal needed.

Undeterred and not intimidated Luna looked to the frosty blond on the slytherin girl's left.

"What?" Draco asked after a few moments completely annoyed when her gaze did not waver from his.

"It was nice to have company in detention today and I look forward to seeing you there again. You rushed out before I got a chance to tell you and I just thought it would be nice to let you know."

The Ravenclaw then spun on her heels and left to bewildered Slytherins in her wake.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling. There's a reference to The Little Shop of Horrors, also not mine.

The Audresis was an odd quirk of nature looking like a strange cross between a Venus flytrap and a cabbage. The notoriously plant was known the world over for its magical properties and even more so for its vicious feeding habits. Draco, unable to resist such a rare opportunity, brought his hand mere inches away from the tiny sapling. Captivated, the Audresis eagerly bobbed and swayed with the motions of the Slytherin's hand like a snake mesmerized by its charmer.

"Feed me. Feed me Draco." The tiny voice implored.

"You have to catch me first." Malfoy taunted as his hand continued to dance just out of the Audresis's reach. It amused him to do it. He had to find something to entertain himself while stuck in detention with the crazy girl.

"Keep doing that and the little sapling will bite your finger clean off." Luna serenely remarked from her spot on the ground as she pulled a white oak athame from Professor Sprout's deep green supply bag.

The platinum blond pureblood let the soft warning roll off his back.

"What makes you think that I would listen to the likes of you about anything?" He sneered at the batty little Ravenclaw with her radish earrings and perpetually dazed expression.

"Since Professor Sprout is a fair distance away working in the Mandrake plot. I think you'll need help taking care of the wound." Luna replied in straightforward manner as she rose from ground and began walking to the Slytherin's side.

Draco momentarily shifted his attention from the Audresis to flash Luna an irritated glare. "Wound? What wound you--ow!"

"That one." The sandy blonde said eyeing the bloody gash now marring Draco's index finger.

"Someone should put it out of its misery. That thing's a bleeding thing's a menace! " Draco exclaimed angrily staring at his hand with something akin to disbelief.

The taste of blood and the scent of it in the air had the previously placid plant snarling and snapping for more. At the moment it was no longer difficult to believe that the small seemingly innocuous sapling, would one day mature into an eight foot tall man eating monster.

The dotty girl immediately jumped to the flora's defense with crystalline blue eyes blazing. "No she isn't. Audrey's just doing what nature intended."

"So nature intended for that thing to take a bite out of me?" The Slytherin challenged.

"Only if you insist on dangling your limbs in front of her," Luna replied with the utmost of solemnity.

Time came to a stand still as cold silver eyes assessed the temerity of Luna and her cerulean blue orbs. This wasn't like dealing with Pothead the scarred wonder and his merry band of bootlickers. Draco always knew exactly what to say to get under their skin. Looney, however, brushed off his insults with disturbing ease. It was one of the reasons why detention was incredibly dull.

So Luna and Draco just stood there, staring at each other until Draco broke the stubborn silence with a stupid question that had been niggling at the back of his mind. He glanced down at his bloody hand, shot a nasty look at the carnivorous plant, and then slid his cool gaze to the small blonde girl with animated frogs leaping across her robe.

"You named it Audrey?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Yes." Luna nodded, "What else could be more fitting?"

"Try Bloody Mary." He retorted.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the intellectual property of JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this creative endeavor.

Luna carefully scraped sticky purple fuzz away from the pod in her hand with a steel blade. After depositing the shavings into a clay jar she sliced the tightly sealed pod open, taking special care to scoop out the nutrient rich pulp along with the seeds just like Professor Sprout had demonstrated earlier. Once the athesium pod was cleanly gutted the petite blonde used a stone mortar and pestle to mash the remaining husk into a fine paste.

Draco was tucked in the back corner of the room several tables behind Luna with his own pile of althesiums to attend to. He was rather quiet today preferring to keep his mouth shut and his attention focused on the task at hand. With the threat of an additional detention hanging over his head Draco was especially motivated to complete the herbology teacher's quota.

Processing athesium pods was very repetitive and tedious work. When Professor Spout stepped away from the classroom to run errand Luna eagerly took a moments respite. She stretched the kinks out of her body and without much conscious direction let her legs do the walking. After a couple of laps around the classroom her legs inexplicably stopped right beside Draco Malfoy. Try as she might they refused to budge from that spot. It was a very strange development Luna decided, but not one she opposed.

So…the raven curiously eyed the snake.

The Slytherin felt the heavy weight of Luna's gaze upon him. Draco immediately narrowed his stormy gray eyes and fixed her with a fearsome glare. Much to his surprise the small girl before him did not falter and would not be intimidated by him. Draco didn't like it one bit, but what could he do? Insults wouldn't work because Luna didn't respond to them like normal people did. Hexing the stuffing out of her, while great fun, would land Draco another slew of detentions he couldn't afford at the moment. So the Malfoy heir settled for a more direct route.

"What?" He finally snapped. Not very eloquent he knew but it got the job done.

Luna, startled by Draco's sudden outburst, responded in a clear and concise manner.

"Huh?"

The tall Slytherin rolled his eyes in frustration.

"You, you're staring at me." Draco spat.

"Quite right," Luna nodded absently. "That does seem to be the case. I think it's because I have a question. For you I mean. "

Draco scoffed," I don't have time for questions."

Luna slowly looked around the rather empty classroom and then back at the pale blond boy. "It looks like you have some time to me."

"Well I don't have time for your questions." Draco clarified. "Got it?"

Apparently not because for some reason those far and away baby blue eyes of hers brightened considerably.

"Yes I do!" Luna exclaimed and asked her question anyway. "Why are you always so sour?"

The Malfoy heir couldn't believe that loon's cheek. She talked to him as if she were his equal. It was simply unacceptable. Draco rose to his full height and towered over Luna. He folded his arms across his chest and shot her that infamous nasty sneer of his.

"I am not sour!"

Luna raised an eyebrow in disbelief and stared at the older student. A slow impish little smile tugged at her lips.

"Should I conjure a mirror here and now?" She pulled a wand from her messy bun. "Because I think that you are the very image of sour Draco Malfoy."

Whatever caustic remark Draco had in store for Luna died on his tongue as he watched her golden hair tumble to her waist. He froze. All of the sudden, out of the blue, Luna looked…indescribable.

Luna's soft smile gradually faded from her face in a whirl of confusion. A mere second ago she was playfully teasing Draco Malfoy hoping that he would let his guard down enough to let loose, but something changed. All Luna now saw as she stared up into that tall young man's eyes was silver…and she couldn't breathe.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the intellectual property of JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this creative endeavor.

For the sake of his sanity Draco tuned out his conversation with Pansy ten minutes ago. He nodded in all the appropriate places as expected, tossing in non-committal comments here and there. Merlin knew that Draco loved Pansy, but when she got worked up over something she tended to hammer the subject into the ground to the point where Draco was seriously considering hexing her. This particular instant involved Pansy lecturing him about the consequences of being uncivil to her new boyfriend.

"Are you listening to me?" Pansy snapped eying the blond suspiciously.

Immediately recognizing the tone of her voice Draco blithely shifted his expression to one of sincere attentiveness. Pansy Parkinson was not fooled. She arched an eyebrow with disbelief written all over her features.

"What did I just say?"

Annoyed the Malfoy heir folded his arms across his chest and recited, "Nott blah blah be nice blah blah or else."

The undisputed princess of Slytherin wisely let the statement stand. Draco was often a stubborn bugger and having him budge on this was something just short of a miracle.

"Good enough." Pansy said tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"All this wouldn't be necessary if you just dated better blokes. What happened? You used to have such excellent taste in men, Pans." He grumbled.

Pansy shook her head in amused exasperation knowing that her best mate referred to her younger much stupider days. "Draco Malfoy you are such an arse."

He laughed ducking the zapping spell Pansy lobbed at his head.

"You used to love my arse, obsessively, might I add. I sort of miss that."

"You're never going to let me live it down are you?" Pansy groaned.

Draco held a hand over his heart and regarded his friend with wide earnest eyes. "Pans, do I look like the sort to hold something like that over your head?"

Pansy Parkinson, bright girl that she was, was not fooled one bit.

Dodging another perilously close hex the Malfoy heir laughed as he silently thanked his lucky stars for all the quidditch practice he'd put in lately. Pansy had wicked aim and a vicious streak in her; had Draco's reflexes been a fraction of a second slower he would've been on the receiving end of a particularly itchy jinx. The platinum blond heir laughed at her colorful threats as the pair raced through empty Hogwarts corridors. It honestly felt good to let loose and act childish again. Draco and Pansy rarely seized on the opportunity to mess around like this.

The fun came to a swift end when the Slytherin duo turned a corner and came across Harry Potter and his merry band of bootlickers. Pansy's cheery disposition slid to the dour mask she typically donned when confronted by Gryffindors. Even without the benefit of a mirror Draco knew his features did the same. Potter and his crew didn't seem to notice them so like the snakes they were Pansy and Draco listened and watched for the best moment to strike.

Out in the foyer two obstinate girls squared off in battle. The Weasel and Scarhead stood off to the side clearly not wishing to be caught in the crossfire. From Draco's vantage point one of the girls had to be Granger. He'd recognize that bushy mass of hair anywhere. The other girl going round for round with the know-it-all was none other than Looney Lovegood. Surprisingly enough Lovegood not only managed to keep up with Granger, she got her own fair share of licks in as well. Looney was a clever one; Draco never noticed before.

Beside him Pansy nodded her approval as she watched Granger backed into a rhetorical corner, "Who knew the little loon had it in her? I suppose her sorting wasn't a fluke after all." She turned to her partner in crime with a devilish gleam in her eye. "We're out numbered but I'm sure we can think up a way to even up the odds. What say we break up this little gathering, hmm?"

At the moment Draco really didn't want to. He normally jumped at the chance to torment Potter and company but for some reason he wasn't too keen on doing it in front of Lovegood. That blasted girl with her luminous skin and dainty figure. Bloody distracting is what she was. Try as he might there seemed to be no escaping the honey blonde hair, dimpled smiles, and big blue eyes of Luna Lovegood. She seemed to be wherever Draco turned. Merlin, the sight of her made him nauseas.

Unfortunately Malfoy's personal preference to beat a hasty retreat was not an option. Potter was out there and Draco couldn't turn refuse an opportunity to knock him down a few pegs in front of Pansy. With an imperceptible sigh he stepped out into the foyer.

89898 *~*~* 98989 89898 *~*~* 98989 89898 *~*~* 98989

"Just sign the bloody parchment, Hermione." Ron Weasley muttered under his breath. The red head looked to his best mate for help but Harry shook his head and put his hands up in surrender clearly refusing to step into what promised to be a loaded minefield. Yeah on second thought, Ron didn't want to get his head blasted off by the two determined young women having it out in the vestibule.

A faint frown flashed across Hermione's features as she registered her boyfriend's language and made a mental note to talk to him later about the inappropriateness of swearing. At present Hermione focused on pressing the point she'd been laying out to Luna. "International Magik Relations is an elective course; unfortunately a new one with a low enrollment rate. Dumbledore was generous enough to give the class a chance but there wasn't sufficient student interest. So yes it is completely understandable as to why the headmaster wouldn't be keen on bringing the course back next year."

The petite blonde Hermione sparred with let the point roll off her and shot back one of her own. "Hermione, if classes depended upon student interest Divination, Muggle studies, and History of Magic would have been chucked out the door a long time ago."

"Okay, I'll give you divination," The Gryffindor reluctantly conceded, "The others courses, however, are necessary parts of the curriculum. They fulfill important functions. International Magik Relations is just not on the same level. It's filled with half baked theories and fantastical claims that have been thoroughly debunked by Wizarding Britain's top research committees. Luna IMR is nothing but a bunch of-" Hermione scrambled for the right words, "-hocus pocus."

"I'll explain later." Harry whispered when he saw confusion cross Ron's face.

"Hocus pocus," Luna repeated even though she had no clue what the Hermione meant. "Why did you drop muggle studies?"

"I'm muggleborn," Hermione replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The material is far too basic for me."

"If I recall correctly you once said muggle studies was a load of tripe foisted on ignorant wizards and witches to promote a false sense of superiority over non-magical beings. Do you remember that Hermione?" Luna asked with a soft airy voice as unyielding as a charging hippogriff.

Hermione evidently did recall if her flushed cheeks were any indication. The Gryffindor hadn't thought Luna actually listened to her periodic lectures and rants. The younger girl always seemed far gone into her own world of Crumpled Horned Snorkacks and Windergers to focus on any of the practical matters Hermione usually spoke of.

Harry took one look at Hermione and turned right back to Ron. "We're never getting out of here are we?"

"Not this century." Ron whispered back.

"Yes I did because I was and continue to be disturbed by the limited information about muggles inaccurately disseminated to witches and wizards. This is continually done despite the vast pool of muggleborns ready and willing to…oh." Hermione said.

A small serene smile lit Luna's features. "Our society at large is far more interested in reinforcing our own sense of superiority than intellectual honesty. Can you trust research at the hands of individuals who make no attempt to control their biases? We already see the murky results in the drek they dole out in muggle studies." Luna held a book out to Hermione as a peace offering. "You don't have to sign my protest parchment, but you should read this. It might give you a new perspective on things."

An arrogant drawl cut off any response Hermione was about to make.

"Well if it isn't precious Potthead and his grotty groupies." Draco Malfoy sneered.

89898 *~*~* 98989 89898 *~*~* 98989 89898 *~*~* 98989

Ron, Hermione, and Harry had their wands out and poised to strike in no time flat. Luna did not miss the way her friends surrounded her preparing to take the brunt of whatever Draco and Pansy would surely fire their way. Ginny generally suffered from youngest-child-in-a-massive-family syndrome and usually railed against such treatment, but Luna wasn't terribly bothered by the trio's protective measures. With her wand tucked behind her ear ready for action at a moments notice Luna was confident in her self defense skills. The dotty Ravenclaw simply thought it nice to know there were people other than her father looking out for her.

A certain young Malfoy also watched Luna. He did it quite often she noticed and the little blonde didn't know what to make of it. The scowls and ridicule were almost a welcome relief to the way Draco's stormy gray eyes burned, pierced, and distracted Luna as she wended her way through school corridors day in and day out. The attention made her face heat, her heart palpitate, and stomach clench. Odd that and worthy of investigation. Luna initially thought it a bad case of nesting cramdens but a meticulous examination by Madame Pomfrey granted her a clean bill of health and a thoroughly debunked theory. No this was something else… something that regretfully bore a striking similarity to the way she used to feel for Ronald…only much stronger.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry fixed his blond rival with a fearsome glare hoping to divert the Slytherin pair's attention away from his friends. Ron and Hermione were covered but a quick glance at Luna proved that she hadn't even pulled her wand out yet. A slight frown marred the girl's pretty features as she pensively stared off in Malfoy's direction. She looked flushed and didn't seem to be paying any mind to her surroundings which knowing Luna as well as he did was entirely possible. Harry instinctively pulled the dotty Ravenclaw closer to his side not wanting her to get hurt in the likely event of a duel breaking out with the Slytherins.

The fire missing from the pit of Draco's stomach when Pansy dragged him into this little altercation reignited to his very core as Potter in all his golden boy glory acted the hero for the blushing Luna Lovegood. Of course another Potter fangirl. A sneer broke across Draco's face as he and his best mate approached Dumbledore's group of do-gooders. Ignoring Potter's question the Slytherin stopped just short of his nemesis and took aim.

"I heard the Weaslette's an awful shag." Draco drawled and then tossed a dismissive glance at Luna before swinging those cold gray eyes back to Potter. "If you're going to cheat on that blood traitor girlfriend of yours you might as well choose someone attractive."

Pansy's cackling and the trio's outrage faded into the background as Luna registered the crack.

It hurt. It hurt a lot.


End file.
